The Windiest Road in the World !!!!

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Hello Everyone

Well here we are in Trashigang, Eastern Bhutan. Since I last "blogged" in Thimphu we have travelled approx 600km across the country, on what must be the windiest, narrowest but most beautiful road in the world.....

The No 1 highway basically runs through the middle of the country from Thimphu (the capital) to Trashigang (where we are now). As I think I may have already mentioned Bhutan is made up of a series of very steep valleys, so the road winds it's way up, down & around the mountains. Progress is very slow as the road is cut into the side of the mountains, is very narrow with sheer drops on one side. It turns back on itself constantly, with almost every bend at least 180 degrees. I would love to know how many bends we have gone around... it must be way over 100,000. This road makes the Great Ocean Road look like a straight 4 lane highway !!

Despite all this the road is fascinating. The scenery is outstanding ... huge valleys with pine forests and spanish moss hanging off the array of other trees, sheer drops, some quite big rivers and the occasional Monkey crossing the road. Added to this there are Prayer flags in some impossible places along the way, with Stupas, and Dzongs (monasteries) appearing out of nowhere. It is really difficult to explain without showing you photos, but I hope you get the idea. We have crossed over a number of high passes, the highest of which was almost 4,000 metres. The people here believe the spirits live at the top of mountains and along rivers, so at the top of each pass and at every bridge, there are always hundreds of prayer flags flapping in the wind, sending prayers to the gods to pacify the spirits. There is also usually the odd Stupa (religious monument) or two, just to make sure they have covered every angle. When you get to the top of a pass the Stupa is usually in the middle of the road (sort of like a round about), and you have to drive around it clockwise at least once (preferably 3 times) to get good karma for the rest of your journey. It's actually quite commical, but when in Rome !!

Apart from windey roads, Bhutan is also the land of the Dzongs (monasteries)..... It seems like we've seen hundreds, but probably about 10 (the important ones). Each Valley has a major town which has a Dzong, and it's the centre of village life. They are usually perched at an impossibly precarious strategic point to protect the valley, and generally date back to the 16th or 17th century. Very often you have to climb up incredibly steep hills to get to them.... I have realised I am no where near as fit as I thought I was !!!

The weather has varied from quite hot to cool, depending on how high up we are. I think the highest we have slept at was around 3,000 m and it was pretty cool, especially at night. We had wood fire heaters in our rooms, and fabulous thick doonas to keep us warm. We've had very little rain since leaving Paro right in the beginning, but this afternoon had the most amazing thunderstorm. Fortunately we got back to the hotel before it started, and watching the lightening over the valley was quite amazing. We have heard that the storm was very severe further up the valley and roofs have been blown off some houses.

Trashigang, where we are now, is a bit of a wild west town in the East!!! It's quite small and the hotel we are staying in is pretty basic (but yes they do have internet, so not that basic!!) This afternoon before the storm, we went to see the local Dzong.... yep another one. However this one was quite special as there was no other people there (locals or tourists) apart from the monks. Every Dzong has a festival, and the Thimphu Dzong (which is a very important one) has a festival happening right now. It's being broadcast live on TV, and we sat and watched it for approx 30 minutes with about 20 monks . Life in the Dzong is not as basic as you think. They do have TV, and they all seem to have mobile phones!!

I think I mentioned in my last blog there has been an earth quake here in Eastern Bhutan. Well we are now in the area where it was most severe. There has been about 1,000 houses destroyed and 12 people killed. This is a really big thing for Bhutan and the King has immediately promised to rebuild the houses, and to provide assistance to the families who have lost people. A lot of people in this area are still afraid to sleep in their houses as there has been a number of after shocks, and travelling the last 2 days we can see where lots of people are sleeping outside in make shift tents. We haven't seen where any actual houses have been destroyed, but have seen many rock falls along the road. We ran into a government delegation from Thimphu today who are here inspecting the damage....It is a 3 day drive from Thimphu as the only way to travel the country is by road... along the same one we've been on. There is no internal flights as there are no air strips (too mountainous), and the government apparently doesn't have a helicopter.

We had big excitement on Saturday, as being the AFL grand final, Anne was very anxious to know who had won..... She is a Geelong girl through and through. So using the wonders of modern technology I sms'd my brother to find out the result (we didn't have access to the internet in the hotel we were staying in). Roger then rang, and we not only found out the result (Geelong won must to Anne delight) but I got to actually talk to someone from home. So you see Bhutan really isn't the isolated place the rest of the world thinks it is....

We only have two more days left here in Bhutan, and Thursday we transfer into India to catch a flight to Calcutta, and then onto Bangkok. Then we head to the beach for a week, before I reluctantly head home..... and back to reality.

Well that's about it from me for now..... I'll be in touch when we get to Thailand.

Cheers, Ali xxxx

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Comments

[Collie]

Hi
Hey Allie, I have resigned. I finish up here on the 23rd October. I haven't got another job. I'm not worried about it at this present time. Just feel very relieved that its coming to an end after 9 years. I got offered another job yesterday afternoon but it was basically doing the same things so I declined. We are off to Tassy 2nd week in November for 4 days for a Harley Davidson Rally. Then we are off to the Gold Coast on 24/12 to 4/1 in the new caravan and then of course back to Bali on 11 June. However that might be all good, but I will still have to find a job whether it be part time. Sounds like you are having a ball. I was disappointed that the Saints lost! Sorry. Anyway keep the blogs coming, love to you. Collie....xxxx

[Merrill]

update
Al - just great to hear about Bhutan, and we were so relieved that you weren't affected by the earthquake, had a few anxious hours thinking about you guys. Sounds just wonderful and can't wait to see pictures. Take care Merrill

[Alibman]

Wow
Hey Collie, so what brought this on ? Shame we are in different cities, as we could be unemployed together. Will be in touch. Cheers, Ali xx